Unexpected
by SupremeMotherHen
Summary: Holly gets an unexpected visitor.


There was knocking. Loud, incessant knocking. Holly thought is was a dream at first and decided to ignore it but when her cat, Gabrielle, sleepily tapped her on the nose, she knew going back to sleep was no longer an option.

Holly threw the covers off of her legs and rose from the bed like an ornery toddler. Or an ornery Gail. Well, just a Gail.

She caught a look at herself while passing her hallway mirror and decided that whoever was bothering her this early deserved her dried drool and wild hair. She just finished a twenty hour shift not even three hours ago and Holly couldn't have cared less about her vanity, at the moment, if she tried.

She really hoped it wasn't another Jehovah's Witness. Her Pentagram t-shirt was still in the hamper and her "Hail Satan" greeting wouldn't be complete without it.

Checking the peephole, Holly spotted a nervous looking person that looked vaguely familiar, but she's sure they hadn't met before. They didn't have a Bible or any pamphlets so that was a good sign. Maybe it was a new neighbor.

Finally feeling a little embarrassed by her walking dead appearance, Holly left the chain on and opened the door just enough to reveal her eyes to her visitor.

"Hello. How can I help you?" Holly's voice slipped in to its usual friendly tone. Regardless of the time, she did not have it in her to be rude to her visitor no matter how vicious she tried to be.

"I'm Alex." The visitor managed to croak out. "I am looking for a Hollister Stewart."

"Oh please don't call me that, I go by just Holly now." She cursed the genius that decided Hollister was a good idea.

"Sorry." Alex chuckled. It was painfully forced.

They stood there staring at each other. Holly, from behind the protection of her door and the heavy duty chain Gail installed a month prior, and Alex looked as though they was searching for God through her eyes. Holly was the first to break the silence.

"Can I help you with something, Alex?"

"Right, sorry." Alex stared for a few more seconds before they slid a manila folder through the crack of the door, to what was hopefully her hand.

Holly skimmed the file, finding something she hadn't expected to see ever again. She closed the door, quickly slid the chain off and opened it again.

"Come in."

"You don't have to." Alex told her. "I don't want to ambush you or anything."

"It's not problem," Holly insisted. "Let me freshen up really quick and we can have coffee or something. Do you like coffee? I have some donuts here too, if you want. You don't have a gluten allergy, do you?"

"I like coffee and no gluten allergy for me." Alex folded easily and decided to stay.

Holly guided Alex to living space. She threw the medical journals and notes, that littered her coffee table and chair, in the general direction of her bookshelf. Alex smiled at her behavior, happy that she was having this reaction and not slamming the door in their face or having a meltdown.

"I'll be right back." Holly sprinted up the steps before sprinting back down, a second later. "And if a cat comes down and looks like she wants to kill you, she doesn't. That's just her face." She sprinted back up the stairs, tripping on the top step. "I'm okay." She yelled back.

Alex stared at their surroundings. The condo was beautiful. There was hardwood flooring, granite counter tops and expensive looking furniture. The other wall was made of floor to ceiling windows, covered in almost regal looking curtains. The bookcase in the corner was a deep mahogany and the mounted television had to be at least 50 inches.

In less than five minutes, Holly returned looking a bit more alive than before. She went to put a pot of coffee on and plated some of the doughnuts that she had bought for Gail. She didn't take her eyes off of Alex. No wonder they looked familiar.

Holly placed the plate of doughnuts and two cups of coffee on to a tray. She took a deep breath and slowly walked back over to Alex. Once the coffee was dispersed and the doughnuts were eaten, they decided to stop ignoring the parade of elephants in the room.

"So, this is really happening." Holly said more than asked.

"Yep." Alex answered hesitantly.

"You're my brother."

"On paper, but I don't believe in the gender binary."

"You're my sibling."

"Yep." Alex answered again.

They sat, staring at each other, even ignoring a very grumpy Gail that stormed in. It wasn't until she had a doughnut stuffed in her mouth that Gail acknowledge the two figures in the sitting area.

"Hey," She stopped for a second, looking the two over. The resemblance was freaking her out a bit. "You two could be related." Gail told them with a mouth full of jelly doughnut.

"We are." Holly told her, not bothering to spare her girlfriend a glance.

"Shit." Was Gail's only response.

"Yeah." The siblings replied in unison.


End file.
